Making the case for the right to life of every innocent, from Lake County, Illinois

Thursday, March 3, 2016

Supremes

Behind the scenes as the Supreme Court hears first abortion case since 2007

By Dave Andrusko

National
Right to Life Political Director Karen Cross spoke at the pro-life
rally outside SCOTUS today as they hear oral arguments in the case over
the Texas pro-life law HB-2.

How’s this for breaking news? “Supreme Court Appears Sharply Divided as It Hears Texas Abortion Case.”
That’s the lead from the New York Times but it was typical of all the first stories coming out of this morning’s oral arguments in Whole Woman’s Health v. Hellerstedt.
At issue, as readers of NRL News Today are fully aware, is
HB2, the omnibus 2013 Texas pro-life law. Previous to the justices
accepting the case, HB 2 was best known outside the state for the
filibuster that temporarily derailed the law.
Pro-abortion state Senator Wendy Davis catapulted her role in that
filibuster to national fame, which tempted her to run what proved to be a
disastrous campaign for governor in 2014.
This morning justices heard back and forth from challengers Stephanie
Toti, of the Center for Reproductive Rights, and U.S. Solicitor
General, Donald B. Verrilli, and Scott Keller, the Texas solicitor
general, who ably defended HB2.
Litigants targeted two provisions): (1)that abortion clinics meet the
same building standards as ambulatory surgical centers (ASCs); and (2)
that abortionists have admitting privileges at a nearby hospital for
situations of medical emergencies. The latter has already gone into
effect. (Notably, pro-abortionists did not challenge the Pain-Capable
Unborn Child Protection Act.)
“Several justices seemed frustrated by gaps in the factual record
presented to them,” Liptak wrote. “The three more conservative justices
said there was little evidence that clinics have closed or would close
because of the law.”
This latter consideration is a point that National Right to Life’s
director of education, Dr. Randall K. O’Bannon, has repeatedly made,
most recently here and here.
By contrast, “The court’s four liberal justices were adamant that the
restrictions imposed by the law served no medical purpose and cannot
pass constitutional muster,” Liptak wrote.Woman’s Health v. Hellerstedt is the first abortion case the High Court has taken up since 2007 when it upheld the federal ban on partial-birth abortions in Gonzales v. Carhart.
It is assumed that a pivotal consideration will be whether the justices
conclude that the requirements place an “undue burden” on a woman’s
right to abortion, criteria first announced in the Court’s 1992 Planned Parenthood v. Casey decision.
Some news stories talked about the huge crowd that had assembled
outside the Supreme Court building; some people had begun lining up on
Tuesday! Liptak observed

One woman urged on those who had
congregated, holding signs with messages like “Abortion on Demand and
Without Apology” and “No Uterus No Opinion.” Speak up, she said, “so
they’ll know that there’s a whole lot of people out here that they’re
going to have to answer to!”

A group of anti-abortion
demonstrators stood in a wide circle, quietly facing the crowd with
signs that read “Protect Women Protect Life,” as abortion rights
activists formed a ring around them, blocking them from view.

Reuters Lawrence Hurley added

Some anti-abortion protesters
sang a religious hymn, “Spirit of the Living God,” as abortion-rights
demonstrators surrounded them

My favorite stanza is the third and speaks to touching the heart of a woman or girl contemplating an abortion:

Because When You Speak, When You Move.When You Do What Only You Can DoIt Changes Us, It Changes What We See And What We Seek